Lopresti: My vote for college football coach of year

• In the spirit of the presidential election, Notre Dame can say it's better off than four years ago
• Oregon coach Chip Kelly's success could be just the grooming for an NFL job
• The Big Ten has been in a deep recession, but two coaches are worthy of votes

My fellow Americans,

The first Tuesday in November is almost here, so the moment has come to study the ballot of candidates and start thinking about who should get our vote.

For college football coach of the year, that is.

True, the 2012 campaign still rolls on this election day, including a showdown Tuesday night in the key battleground state of Ohio. We await the final returns from there, to see if it is Obama or Romney, and also Toledo or Ball State.

But as Chip Kelly always says to his Oregon offense: Forward.

Start with Notre Dame, where the voters are asking themselves one question. Are they better off than they were four years ago? You bet your shillelagh.

Back then, the Irish were lucky to get to the Hawaii Bowl, and now they're waking up echoes. Despite all the big public universities trying to topple Notre Dame, the private sector is doing fine. The Irish are trailing slightly in the polls, but are certainly within the margin of error for getting elected.

Then again, we have whole binders full of men who could be considered.

The Big Ten has been in a deep recession, so 47% of the people don't care who's doing the best job in that league. But the irony is there are two very electable candidates.

One is Urban Meyer, who has vowed that Ohio State will be back among the elite, if it isn't already. In your heart, you know he's right. A 10-0 start is what you call true Urban renewal.

The other is Bill O'Brien, who went into the darkness at Penn State with his eyes open and vowed to make changes we can believe in. Conventional wisdom had the Nittany Lions going something like 3-9, and now they're 6-3.

The league with the highest profile candidate? It's the SEC, stupid.

There are plenty of registered voters out there who'd rather swallow Drano than watch the SEC win another national football championship. But if Nick Saban can get his Alabama team reelected to another visit to the White House, that's a considerable feat. It's a short list of men who have done it. Hail to the chief.

The Tide might have had a flaw or two exposed the past weekend, but the voters weren't fooled. The BCS is still a red state. Or crimson, anyway.

In the West, there's Chip Kelly, who is said to be being groomed for higher office. Sundays in the NFL. But until then, it's awfully entertaining watching his offense leave someone needing oxygen every week. If you want to have a dialogue with the defensive coordinator who has stopped them, you'd be talking to an empty chair.

Oregon's players are the poster Ducks for the new age of scoring. We have fewer three-yard dives today, just like the military has fewer horses and bayonets.

Actually, Oregon is a key state, with its seven electoral votes. You can make as strong a case for Mike Riley at surprising Oregon State as you can Kelly.

At Kansas State, Happy Days Are Here Again should be played whenever Bill Snyder walks in. He has fixed the mess twice in Wildcat football. Here's a guess. This team isn't losing, so in Manhattan, the only thing they have to fear is fear itself ... and finishing behind Oregon in the last BCS poll.

Anyone else? We could mention Will Muschamp, but you know what happens whenever you involve the state of Florida in an election. A good third-party candidate would be Charlie Strong at unbeaten Louisville, or Gary Andersen at Utah State. Since when is Utah State supposed to be 8-2?

It's not yet time to pull the lever, but the lean is toward the guy who has had to face obstacles, questions, complications and situations that no candidate in his profession has ever had to face.

I like Bill O'Brien on election day. And I love Big Bird.